Jay Slater: Dad of teenager missing in Tenerife says it is 'living hell' (2024)

The father of missing British teenager Jay Slater says he is experiencing "a living hell", as the search for his son in Tenerife enters a second week.

Warren Slater said "I just want him found", while speaking to reporters in the town of Santiago del Teide, around four miles (6.4km) from where search teams are looking.

On Monday, police cars parked at the entrance to a mountain track near where the 19-year-old's mobile phone was last traced.

Mr Slater has not been heard from since calling one of the friends on the island with him eight days ago - telling her he was lost, his phone was running out of battery and he needed water.

Specialist dog teams have also been out looking for him, with much of the search focusing on an area near a national park in north-western Tenerife.

Mr Slater's father has been appealing for help from the local community in Santiago del Teide, where the family went after an unconfirmed report of a possible local sighting.

They have put up missing posters written in Spanish, including at the tourist information centre and in shop windows.

Warren Slater was emotional as he told reporters: "Somebody must know something. I just want him to be found. End of.”

The search teams are working in challenging conditions at Rural de Teno National Park - Mr Slater's last known location.

Officers from the Guardia Civil in the Canary island were spotted searching two structures at the bottom of a ravine in the park on Sunday.

Efforts appeared to be primarily focused on the one area after days of searches in the nearby village of Masca and the surrounding landscape.

When asked how the search operation is going, police in Tenerife said that they do not comment on ongoing investigations.

One man who had flown out from the UK to help described his role in the search operation through ravines as like "looking for a needle in a haystack".

Mountaineer Paul Arnott, 29, of Flitwick, Bedfordshire, said: "You cannot believe how steep and big an area it is until you get out here.

"I thought there would be more people searching, though."

Mr Slater's friends and family have said he had earlier left the group he travelled with in the tourist hotspot of Playa de las Americas, on the south of the island.

After leaving the NRG music festival at Papagayo night club, the apprentice bricklayer got in a car with two men he had met to drive to the national park in north-west Tenerife.

In a statement, NRG described Mr Slater's disappearance as a "devastating situation" that "has deeply affected us all". Organisers continued to "hope for his safe return," it added.

Lancashire Police said last week it had offered to assist Spanish police searching for him, but were told their counterparts in Tenerife felt they had enough resources.

Mr Slater was on his first holiday without family and had travelled to attend the festival with two friends.

One of them, Lucy Law, is thought to have been the last person to speak to him, said he told her over the phone he had missed a bus and decided to walk the 10-hour journey home but was lost, needed water and only had 1% battery left.

Earlier in the week a fundraising page set up by Ms Law to help find him gathered more than £30,000 worth of donations.

Mr Slater's employer, PH Build Group, said it had deleted a post about the missing teenager on its Facebook page after it was inundated with "negative comments."

"Jay has been with us since he left school and is liked by all. He's a valued member of our team and we stand by him," the construction company wrote.

"The fact is he's a 19-year-old lad missing in a foreign country. He needs to be back home where he belongs."

The Rural de Teno Park is about a 40-minute drive from where Mr Slater and his friends were staying.

A remote and wild national park, it is a world away from Los Cristianos and Playa de las Americas, the party town holiday resorts of the island’s south coast.

Deep ravines and huge daunting mountains make the national park a difficult place for the Spanish search teams to navigate.

  • Sunday 16 June - Jay Slater and friends attend final day of the NRG music festival at Papagayo night club in the tourist hotspot of Playa de las Americas

  • Monday 17 June - Between 03:00 and 06:00 BST Mr Slater got into a car with two men he had met during the holiday and left Playa de las Americas

  • 07:30 - Mr Slater posts a photograph on his Snapchat account showing him at the doorway of a property, tagged with the location Parque Rural de Teno

  • Between 08:30 and 09:00 - Mr Slater calls his friend and says he missed a bus back south and was attempting to walk the 10-hour journey

  • The call cuts out, with his phone's last location showing a path in the mountainous Rural de Teno national park, popular with hikers

  • Tuesday 18 June - Despite his friends searching the area, no sign of Mr Slater emerges and he does not return to his accommodation

  • Local police and mountain rescue teams begin searching and his mother and brother board a flight to Tenerife

  • Wednesday 19 June - The Spanish Guardia Civil continue the search using drones, dogs and a helicopter but no trace is found

  • The search is briefly moved to the Los Cristianos area in the south of the island due to a potential sighting, but police quickly "discount" that lead and move the search back to the original area

  • Thursday 20 June - The Guardia Civil, mountain rescue, firefighters and volunteers return to scour the national park

  • Friday 21 June - Lancashire Police confirms it has offered to help the search but says Spanish Police are "satisfied that they have the resources they need"

  • Saturday 22 June - Police, rescue dog teams and firefighters continue combing the mountainous terrain at Rural de Teno

  • His mother, Debbie Duncan, issues a direct plea to her son, saying: "We just need you home"

  • Sunday 23 June - Police examine outbuildings at the bottom of a ravine in Rural de Teno, close to where his phone last pinged

Additional reporting by Charlotte Scarr

Jay Slater: Dad of teenager missing in Tenerife says it is 'living hell' (2024)

FAQs

Have they found the missing lad in Tenerife? ›

In short: The search for British teenager Jay Slater has been called off by Spanish authorities. The 19-year-old went missing on the island of Tenerife nearly two weeks ago, sparking significant attention online. What's next?: Spanish police say the case remains open and several lines of inquiry are being investigated.

Did they find Jay in Tenerife? ›

The search for Jay Slater in an area of Tenerife has been called off, police have said, nearly two weeks after his disappearance. The British teenager, from Oswaldtwistle, near Blackburn in Lancashire, has been missing in Tenerife since 17 June, when he vanished the morning after a rave.

Have they found Jay yet? ›

Spanish authorities have decided to end their search, having found no trace of Jay.

Are they still looking for Jay Slater? ›

Police in Tenerife have called off their search for missing British teenager Jay Slater on Sunday nearly two weeks after he disappeared.

Are they still searching for Jay? ›

The search for missing British teenager Jay Slater in Tenerife has been called off, police say. Tenerife's Guardia Civil told the BBC: “The search operation is over.

Has Emily Bomken been found? ›

Gwent Police confirm body found in search for missing woman Emily Bomken. A body has been found in the police search for missing 39-year-old, Emily Bomken. Ms Bomken, from Tidenham Chase in Gloucestershire, has been missing since Saturday, November 12.

Was Jay actually adopted? ›

Immediately, Jay rushed to his parent's home where he called out for his father only for Ed to come out alive and well. Jay was relieved at the news but questioned the contents of the letter; Ed and his wife decided it was time to tell Jay the truth and inform him that he was adopted.

Where was Jay Slater's last location? ›

Mr Slater's last known location is believed to be a remote area near the Mirador La Cruz de Hilda cafe, an 11-hour walk from his accommodation in the south of Tenerife. His disappearance has attracted search parties of friends and family, as well as an army of internet sleuths and conspiracy theorists.

Are Jay and the Americans still alive? ›

Jay Black, lead singer of rock group Jay and the Americans, has died from complications due to pneumonia, his family announced on Saturday. He was 82. Born in Brooklyn and originally named David Blatt, Black changed his name upon joining Jay and the Americans, in which he replaced Jay Traynor.

When did Jay Slater go missing? ›

His older brother Chris Cook, now 49, said Mr Slater's disappearance in Tenerife on 17 June had brought back tough memories. He said the 19-year-old's family "will have days where they reach rock bottom" and said it was vital for them to help each other through.

What is Jay's last name serial? ›

The interview contains several details which have thus far remained undisclosed: for instance, Jay, whose last name is Wilds (Koenig uses first names only), recounts that Syed allegedly first showed him Lee's body while the two were parked in front of Jay's grandmother's house--not, as suggested on Serial, in the ...

Has the lad in Tenerife been found? ›

Mr Slater has been missing since June 17 when he went to a rave with friends before travelling across Tenerife to stay with two fellow Brits. Since then no trace of him has been found.

Who is Jay Slater's mother? ›

Mr Slater's mother, Debbie Duncan, travelled to the island as the search took place. She said the money raised online would be used to support mountain rescue teams, and to cover her own accommodation and food costs.

Where does Jay Slater come from? ›

Mr Slater, from Oswaldtwistle near Blackburn in Lancashire, told a friend over the phone at 8.30am the following morning that he was walking back to his holiday accommodation after missing a bus. He also said he was lost, in need of water, and only had 1% charge on his phone.

Has Gavin Octaviano been found? ›

22-year-old Gavin Octaviano who went missing at Golden Gate Bridge on November 23, 2018, has still not been found.

Was Paul Swenson ever found? ›

On Aug. 13 about 4 p.m., police located Swenson's body in Mill Creek in South Salt Lake. Someone reported a body floating near 130 West and 2950 South, police said. Swenson's body was recovered several blocks downstream, where it had been caught on debris.

Who found Cassidy Poway? ›

Deputies with the Poway Sheriff's Station worked closely with the Sheriff's Juvenile Services Group and Sheriff's ASTREA (helicopter) to find Cassidy and Lucy. “A special thank you goes to the Sheriff's Search and Rescue (SAR) Unit.

Who found Tenerife? ›

The earliest known human settlement in the islands, dating to around 200 BCE, was established by Berbers known as the Guanches.

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